Fall of Cardolan

The fall of Cardolan was a landmark event in the destruction of Arnor at the hands of the Witch-king of Angmar.

History

A map showing the boundaries of the three Northern Kingdoms.

After the death of Eärendur in T.A. 861, Arnor was split into three separate kingdoms: Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. Arthedain was situated in the North-west and encompassed the territories between Brandywine and Lhûn, as well as the lands to the north of the Royal Road as far as the Weather Hills. Rhudaur was located in the North-east between the Weather Hills, the Ettenmoors and the Misty Mountains, and also included the Angle between the and the Bruinen and the Hoarwell. Cardolan lay in the South, with its borders consisting of the Gwathló, Brandywine, and the Royal Road.

The line of Isildur endured In Arthedain, but in Rhudaur and Cardolan the line was soon broken. There was frequent conflict between the three kingdoms, with the primary source of strife being the ownership of the Weather Hills and the territories stretching west towards Bree. Rhudaur and Cardolan wished to lay claim to Amon Sûl, which stood on the borders between the two kingdoms. The Tower held the chief Palantír of the North, with the other two being in the possession Arthedain.

Then, during the beginning of the reign of Malvegil of Arthedein, a great evil saw opportunity in the quarreling among the Dúnedain of Arnor. The Witch-king of Angmar, lord of the realm which arose in the North beyond the Ettenmoors, thus came to the three kingdoms with the purpose of destroying them.

Since the line of Isildur was broken in all of the other kingdoms, the kings of Arthedain claimed the lordship of all Arnor. Arthedain's claim was challanged by Rhudaur, where the remnants of the Dúnedain were dwindling. After forging a secret alliance with the Witch-king, the evil lord of the Hillmen seized power there, causing Argeleb of Arthedain to fortify the Weather Hills. He was subsequently slain in a battle against Rhudaur and Angmar in T.A. 1356.

With the aid of Cardolan and Lindon, Argeleb's son, Arveleg, drove back the forces of Rhudaur and Angmar from the Weather Hills. For many years Arthedain and Cardolan maintained a force there, as well as along the Royal Road and the lower Hoarwell. At the same time that this force was being maintained, Angmar laid siege to Rivendell.

By T.A. 1409, a large number of the Witch-king's forces had entered Cardolan and surrounded Weathertop. In the events that followed this incursion, the Dúnedain were defeated and Arveleg was slain. The fleeing Dúnedain managed to save the palantír at Amon Sûl in spite of the Tower's burning and razing and carried it with them during their retreat to Fornost. Cardolan, too, was ravaged, and Rhudaur came under the dominion of evil Men who were loyal to the Witch-king, with the remaining Dúnedain there being slain or fleeing west.

Arveleg's young son, Araphor, enlisted the aid of Círdan and repelled the forces of Angmar from Fornost and the North Downs. A remnant of the faithful Dúnedain also held out in the Barrow-downs - where the last prince of Cardolan came to be buried in T.A. 1409 - or took refuge in the Old Forest.

For a time following T.A. 1409, the forces of Angmar were quelled by the Elves of Lindon and also by Elrond, who had brought forces from Lothlórien over the Misty Mountains. Due to the wars, the presence of Angmar's forces, and the worsening climate, the Stoors that occupied the Angle fled to the west and south, with some returning to the Wilderland beside the Gladden riverside.

By T.A. 1636, during the reign of Argeleb II, the Great Plague had fallen upon Eriador. Arriving from the South-east, it killed most of the people of Cardolan, with Minhiriath being especially badly affected. Though it lessened as it passed northwards and had little effect on Arthedain, the Hobbits and all other peoples experienced great suffering due to the sickness. As time passed, the Plague brought forth the final ruin of the Cardolan and its Dúnedain, and the evil spirits of Rhudaur and Angmar entered its empty mounds and dwelt there.

See also

• Angmar conflict